A WordPress Tale: The Phoenix Rises
Now #PoweredByLightsail, my WordPress site and I are no longer beholden to one website on a shared server controlled by a web hosting company. I’m the master of my own domain, or at least master of my own server. Literally.
With more power than I will ever get on a hosted website (that isn’t dedicated), AWS lets me create and destroy Lightsail WP instances at will. I also have root access on my server. My inner control freak is at peace.
An AWS Lightsail instance is a virtual server with all of the ease, agility, and control of cloud without the complexity of configuring VPCs, EC2 instances, or EBS storage. While Lightsail’s simplicity removes some of your customization ability, you can migrate (via snapshot) to a more customizable EC2 instance later.
With cloud agility, Lightsail instances deploy in minutes, not 4 hours like you could expect from a traditional web host.
Lightsail offers way more application options than WordPress. Deploy blueprints with applications Node.js, Plex, Joomla, or a Windows or Ubuntu server in which you install your own applications.
For tech support, I am that person. No longer do I need to fear WordPress updates and problems that can only be resolved by calls to tech support.
All of these perks come about the same cost of my previous web hosting plan.
| GoDaddy | AWS | |
| Hosting | $9.99 / month [Details] | $5 / month [Details] |
| SSL Certificate | $70 / year | Free (Let’s Encrypt) |
| Domain Email Address | $23.88 / year | $5 / month |
| DNS and other fees | — | $2 / month (estimated) |
| Total | $213.88 / year | $144 / year |
Okay, I know what you are thinking. Cloud costs are more unpredictable and you never know what your bill will look like. While that can sometimes be true, Lightsail instances and Mail (via WorkMail) actually have fixed prices.
Migrating to Lightsail has been a massive success for me. I have more control. My site also loads faster and is more resilient. Firsthand, I now see how “Shadow IT” has become such a thing. Most importantly, though, the IT nerd in me had fun setting up Lightsail, too.
So, what do you think? Could your WordPress site benefit from a migration to AWS Lightsail. If so, stay tuned for the last post that will cover the steps necessary to make it happen.
